Appraisal myths & facts

It is required by legal agencies that an appraiser must be state-licensed to create appraisal reports for federally-related real estate purchases in Florida.
You also have the right to demand a copy of the completed appraisal report from your lending agency.
Contact our professional staff if you have any concerns about the appraisal process.

Myth: Market value needs to be similar to the assessed value of the property.

Fact: This is not often the case; most states do support the concept that the assessed value is the same as market value, but not always.
There are times when interior remodeling has been done and the assessor is unaware of the improvement or other houses in the area have not been reassessed for a good length of time, it may vary wildly.

Myth: The buyer or the seller sometimes may have some pull in the value of the home depending upon for whom the appraiser is working.

Fact: The opinion of value of the home does not affect the payment of the appraiser; due to this, the appraiser has no pressured interest in the opinion of value of the home. This means that he will complete his job with impartiality and objectivity regardless for whom the appraisal is produced.

Myth: The replacement cost of the house is always is on par with the market value.

Fact: The way market value is arrived at is based on what a home buyer would be willing to pay a willing seller for a house without being under pressure from any external group to purchase or sell.
The dollar amount necessary to reconstruct a home is what constitutes the replacement cost.

Myth: Appraisers use a calculation, like a specific price per square foot, to figure out the cost of a property.

Fact: An appraisal report is an amalgamation of information concluded from the property's size, location, proximity to certain facilities, the condition of the house and the cost of recent comparable sales. You can count on DANIEL I KANDEL's appraisers to be ethical in assessing this data.

Myth: In a strong economy - when the costs of houses in a given region are reported to be increasing by a particular percentage - the worth of individual houses in the proximity can be expected to appreciate by that same percentage.

Fact: Worth increase of a certain home has to be determined on a case-by-case basis, factoring in information on comparable homes and other relevant elements.
It doesn't matter if the economy is on the rise or declining.

Have other questions about appraisers, appraising or real estate in Broward County or Weston/Ft. Lauderdale, FL?

Myth: You can usually find what a house is worth simply by looking at the exterior.

Fact: To conclude an accurate worth beyond all doubt, an appraiser must assess the house on a variety of factors based on location, condition, improvements, amenities, and market trends.
As you can see, none of these factors can be derived simply by viewing the home from the exterior.

Myth: Since you're the one coughing up the cash for the appraisal when applying for your loan to buy or refinance your home, you own the produced appraisal.

Fact: Legally, the appraisal is owned by the lending agency unless the lender releases their interest in the document.
However, home buyers must be given a copy of the appraisal upon written request, through the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.

Myth: There's no reason for consumers to even worry about what the report contains so long as their lending company is fine with the contents therein.

Fact: Only if consumers look at a copy of their report can they ensure its accuracy and possibly need to question the result. Remember, this is probably the most expensive and important investment a consumer will ever make.
An report can serve as a record for the future, containing an exorbitant amount of data - including, but certainly not limited to the legal and physical description of the property, square footage measurements, list of comparable properties in the neighborhood, neighborhood description and a narrative of current real-estate activity and/or market trends in the proximity.

Fact: Appraisers can have many different qualifications and designations which allow them to provide a series of different services including - but definitely not limited to - advice on estate planning, tax assessment, zoning, dispute resolution in many different legal situations and cost analysis.

Myth: A home inspection serves the same purpose as an appraisal.

Fact: An appraisal report does not fulfill the same purpose as an inspection report.
The appraiser finds an opinion of value in the appraisal process and resulting appraisal.
The job of a home inspector is to find the condition of the property and its main components, then write a report on these findings.